Obama promises to review deportations

Published: March 15, 2014 3:00 AM

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WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama's new promise to seek ways to ease his administration's rate of deportations aims to mollify angry immigrant advocates but carries risks for a White House that has insisted it has little recourse.

In asking Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson to review enforcement practices, Obama could undo already fragile congressional efforts to overhaul immigration laws. And he still could fall short of satisfying the demands of pro-immigrant groups that have been increasing pressure on him to dramatically reverse the administration's record of deportations.

The White House announced Thursday that Obama had directed Johnson to see how the department "can conduct enforcement more humanely within the confines of the law."

Republican House Speaker John Boehner's office pointedly warned that fixes to the immigration system should be carried out by Congress, not by the president on his own.

But immigrant advocates insisted Obama needs to act promptly and broadly to reduce deportations, which have reached nearly 2 million during his presidency.

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"Go bold, go big, go now," said Frank Sharry, executive director of America's Voice. "The president has the ability to step into the vacuum created by the House Republican inaction to protect millions of people who are low priority, use his executive authority in an expansive way."

In the face of such pressure, including public heckling, Obama has time and again insisted that he must follow the law and the only way to reduce deportations is through legislation passed by Congress.

White House officials on Friday downplayed the ability of the administration to take unilateral steps that would significantly reduce deportations.